


Treasure Trove

by thelittlestbird



Category: From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - E. L. Konigsburg
Genre: Bechdel Test Pass, Gen, Misses Clause Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:14:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21808756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelittlestbird/pseuds/thelittlestbird
Summary: Nearly twenty years after Claudia Kincaid ran away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she’s still making sure that treasures find their way to the people who will love them the most
Comments: 30
Kudos: 71
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	Treasure Trove

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LovelyPoet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyPoet/gifts).



“…so you can see the delicacy of the carving here.” Claudia Kincaid turned the bracelet over in her hands, letting the light catch every curve and facet of the lacy pattern etched into the reddish-pink stone. “It takes a true expert to get that kind of detail in carnelian, and yet they didn’t sign their work. There are so many brilliant artists whose names are lost to history - ”

“So did this belong to Marie Antoinette or not?” Ms. Fallon broke in for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Claudia had gotten used to hiding her winces from the camera. 

_We can edit that out,_ Claudia thought. Ms. Fallon wasn’t the first Treasure-Hunter who spoke at the wrong time or tried to steal the spotlight from the experts, and she wouldn’t be the last. The producers usually did a good job of choosing people to bring in front of the cameras, but they weren’t infallible, and in her three seasons as an expert on _Treasure Trove,_ Claudia had been interrupted, upstaged and pelted with non sequiturs quite a few times.

Or in the case of Ms. Fallon, all three. “I thought this belonged to Marie Antoinette,” she insisted. “That’s what my great-aunt said when she left it to me.” Her manicured nails flicked against her fashionably-feathered hair, preening for the camera like a parrot in a hot-pink blouse.

“The artistry and quality are definitely consistent with a piece that could have been owned by royalty or at least nobility,” Claudia hedged, trying to improvise something that could be spliced smoothly with what she had been saying before the last interruption. “And a piece with a very similar description was recorded as having gone missing from the French crown jewels sometime around 1885 – so, exactly a hundred years ago. We’ll have to do more research to –“

“So it was owned by Marie Antoinette!” Ms. Fallon crowed.

This time Claudia had a harder time keeping her expression neutral. “Well, it was most likely made in the middle of the seventeenth century. About a hundred years before Marie Antoinette was born,” she added, for the benefit of the cameras and anyone in the audience who didn’t know history well enough to put those puzzle pieces together. “Do you see the rose pattern there? That was most commonly seen in Parisian-made jewelry from about 1650 onwards, when – “

“Yeah, I don’t care about that.”

Claudia flicked her eyes up over Ms. Fallon’s shoulder towards the production team. The director was already shaking his head; the camera operator’s hand was raised, poised to stop filming the second he got the signal; and the production assistant was frantically scribbling on her clipboard. They all looked exasperated except for the PA – a round young woman with wide dreamy eyes and the all-black wardrobe of someone trying to look artsy and cool in New York – who looked just as anguished outside as Claudia felt inside.

“It’s possible that Marie Antoinette could have seen it,” Claudia hedged, reluctant to give in to the Treasure-Hunter’s demands. “But something like this would more likely have been worn by someone else at her court. A lady-in-waiting, or - ”

“Yeah, whatever.” Ms. Fallon was already staring off into space, bored and disdainful.

“Okay, cut,” the director finally sighed. “Thank you, Mrs. Fallon. We’ll be in touch.”

Ms. Fallon was gone almost before the light on the camera winked out, taking the carnelian bracelet with her.

“Take five, Ms. Kincaid,” the director called sympathetically, as Claudia drooped back in her chair.

 _Treasure Trove_ wasn’t the biggest show on TV – it aired on Saturday mornings right after the 8 AM news; hardly a prime-time spot – and it had such a tiny budget that it rarely filmed anywhere outside of its slightly shabby warehouse studios in lower Manhattan. Still, it let Claudia use her art history degree, and it let her work with a much wider variety of objects than she would have if she’d been working at a museum. As one of only three appraisers, she looked at everything from jewelry to sculptures to books, and she never knew what was going to come in next. 

Once in a while, she could even solve a mystery. Claudia still smiled every time she thought about the look on that one elderly Treasure-Hunter’s face when she confirmed that yes, the treasured letter passed down in his family really was written by Frederick Douglass. She smiled even more when she remembered how she had actually figured out how to open a wooden puzzle-box on camera, revealing a ring hidden inside. She’d learned long ago that secrets were only fun if you could share them with someone – and that some secrets deserved to be shared with the whole world.

But best of all, working on _Treasure Trove _let her _touch_ objects. Holding a piece in your hand and knowing that someone had held that same object hundreds of years ago? It was almost like reaching out to touch their hand.__

__An actual touch on her actual shoulder called Claudia back to reality. “Ms. Kincaid?” It was the PA, clipboard tucked under her black-clad arm and apologetic smile on her face. “Sorry – we need to clear this table so we can get the next Treasure-Hunter in.”_ _

__Claudia shook her head to clear it. “Right. Thanks – Rachel.” The PA’s name came to Claudia after a moment’s thought. Rachel flashed a quick, startled smile in return, happily surprised that one of the appraisers had remembered her name._ _

__Rachel was even shyer than most PAs, preferring to stand just behind the director or producer unless expressly instructed to get out in front. But even from back in the shadows, Claudia could see something different in her. Most of the PAs were here because they wanted to get a start in television, but Rachel was here because she loved art and antiques._ _

__Claudia knew exactly how that felt._ _

__“That bracelet was beautiful.” Rachel’s soft voice trailed behind Claudia as they walked over to the cheap folding table that passed for _Treasure Trove_ ’s craft services. _ _

__Claudia glanced back with another encouraging smile. “It was, wasn’t it? It must have been worn by one of the younger ladies-in-waiting.” She had figured it all out, so she might as well tell someone even if she wasn’t going to get to tell Ms. Fallon or the viewers. “You saw how small it was? I don’t think it was small enough to be worn by a child, but definitely someone with very slender wrists.”_ _

__“I saw…” Rachel faltered. Her hesitant gaze rose to meet Claudia’s, then skipped away. “It was all worn smooth on the inside, and – and – the carving had soft edges, not sharp. That meant…”_ _

__“That someone wore it every day,” Claudia supplied. If she’d been saying this on camera, she would have had to stay crisp and professional, but now she could let the dreaminess that she felt inside show through. “And that someone ran their fingers over the carving many many times. Maybe one person every day; maybe a succession of people over the years.”_ _

__Rachel nodded her quick agreement. “Someone _loved_ that bracelet.” Her voice trembled with fervor. “Can you imagine?”_ _

__“Absolutely.”_ _

__In that moment, something happened. Like a chime ringing far away to mark the hour, or the pieces of the puzzle box clicking into place in their new position, there was a separation between ‘before’ and ‘after.’_ _

__Claudia could tell from the shift in Rachel’s expression that the PA had sensed the change too. Rachel was still faintly frowning, trying to figure it out, but Claudia knew exactly what had changed: she and Rachel were a team now. They were on each other’s side, and on the side of the lady-in-waiting who loved the bracelet three hundred years ago._ _

__“How could anyone _not_ love it?” Rachel continued, looking pleadingly up at Claudia. “Can’t we get Ms. Fallon to understand? If she only knew what the bracelet’s real history was, maybe she’d change her mind! Maybe she’d appreciate what she has.”_ _

__Being on a team meant that Claudia shouldn’t say no. Not that she wanted to, anyway. “I don’t know what our chances are,” she had to caution Rachel. “But you’re right: we have to try.”_ _

__* * *_ _

__If someone had asked Claudia to describe what she thought Ms. Fallon’s home looked like, it would be an exact match to the Upper East Side apartment that she and Rachel were ushered into. White walls, white carpets, white furniture with pristinely square edges. The only spots of color came from the paintings on the wall – a Kramer in his immediately identifiable broad abstract-expressionist stripes of vivid yellow; a misty green Impressionist garden that Claudia thought might be a Dubois; a bright Romantic sweep of ocean with a tiny ruin clinging to the cliff overhead._ _

__Ms. Fallon caught the angle of Claudia’s glance and stepped in to intercept. “See that one?” she said, with a satisfied gesture towards the Romantic seascape. “That used to be owned by Winston Churchill. And I bet you can tell that the yellow one is a Kramer. The dealer told me that _everyone_ would be able to tell.”_ _

__“That’s Sunrise Number Three, isn’t it?” Claudia and Ms. Fallon turned in simultaneous surprise towards Rachel, who ducked her head, going faintly pink above her black turtleneck as she mumbled, “We studied it in my junior seminar. He had a whole series of sunrise paintings.”_ _

__“I knew you’d recognize it,” Ms. Fallon preened. “The dealer told me that this was the most recognizable one.”_ _

__That was an odd way of phrasing it, Claudia thought. But if that was what Ms. Fallon had been looking for in art, then she had certainly found it._ _

__“So. What can I do for you?” Ms. Fallon continued, in a tone that suggested that she expected _them_ to be doing something for _her_._ _

__“We’ve done some more research on the bracelet,” Claudia replied smoothly, “and we thought you would want to know what we’ve discovered.” She glanced over at Rachel, who was shuffling through her notes, and when the younger woman’s hesitant gaze flickered up again, Claudia gave her an encouraging nod to prompt her to speak._ _

__Rachel gathered herself with a deep breath – and started in a place that Claudia did not at all expect. “You love the art that you have, don’t you, Ms. Fallon?” Rachel asked, soft and hopeful. “Your paintings – the Kramer, the Whitaker – “_ _

__Whitaker! That was the name of the artist who painted the seascape. It had been on the tip of Claudia’s tongue._ _

__Not Ms. Fallon’s, though. “The who?” she asked a little harshly, annoyed by the detour that the conversation was taking._ _

__Rachel winced, but tried again, translating it into terms that would resonate with their host: “The one owned by Winston Churchill.” Right on cue, the famous name brought back Ms. Fallon’s smile. “And you love them because…they mean something to you. Because they’re associated with _people_ who mean something to you.”_ _

___Oh, well done_ , Claudia thought. _ _

__“That’s right.” Ms. Fallon spoke slowly, looking at Rachel through narrowed eyes as if searching for a trap in the earnest young woman’s words._ _

__“So…let us tell you about the person who owned this.” Rachel’s hopeful smile brightened even more. “One of them, at least.”_ _

__Claudia and Rachel had spent three days shuttling between the New York Public Library and Columbia University, and they had enjoyed every minute of it._ _

__Pre-episode research at the New York Public Library was one of Claudia’s favorite parts of her job. She loved being surrounded by the marble and dark wood of the gloriously cavernous reading room that was somehow both echoing and silent at the same time; she loved being able to ask for any book she wanted and having it magically appear twenty minutes later. Then when one of their research trails led them to some books at Columbia, Rachel navigated that library with the kind of assurance that could only come from having spent four years there, hopping from book to book, chasing footnotes and references._ _

__And finally, they had come up with some answers._ _

__“We don’t know the first owner,” Rachel began. “But we do know that from 1680 onwards it was owned by Justine, the youngest daughter of the comte de Laval, so maybe the original owner was her mother. Justine de Laval lived at Versailles from 1684 to 1688.” Predictable as always, Ms. Fallon perked up at the mention of the familiar and prestigious name of Versailles. “Everyone says that Justine was a brilliant musician,” Rachel continued, with as much enthusiastic familiarity as if she were talking about one of her own friends. “She had really good fashion sense, too. She left Versailles when she got married in 1688, and she gave this bracelet as a gift to her friend Anne de Gramont –“_ _

__“So how did it get into the French royal jewels?” Ms. Fallon broke in._ _

__Rachel shuffled through her notes, nearly dropping a few index cards in her nervous haste. “Anne was a lady-in-waiting to the king’s niece, and – “_ _

__Ms. Fallon interrupted again. “So you’re telling me that Marie Antoinette never even saw this thing?”_ _

__“It isn’t likely, no,” Claudia jumped in, trying to save Rachel._ _

__Rachel wasn’t done, though. “But does that even matter?” The hopeful note was back in her voice. “Look how beautiful it is!” She leaned in, reaching out to run a finger over the bracelet. “See how soft the edges are?”_ _

__Ms. Fallon rolled her eyes. “That just means it’s not in good condition.”_ _

__“It means that you can see the human factor in it,” Claudia offered, taking her cue from Rachel. “You can see how it was passed from person to person.”_ _

__“Justine loved it!” Fervor widened Rachel’s huge eyes even more. “And Anne probably loved it too, because it made her think of her friend.”_ _

__“Pffft,” Ms. Fallon scoffed. “Who are they? I’ve never heard of them. They don’t matter.”_ _

__“Everyone matters!” Rachel cried. All of a sudden, she had entirely forgotten to be afraid, or even restrained. Her voice rang off of the pristine walls and wide glass windows, full of emotion. “Even the people in history you’ve never heard of! _Especially_ them!”_ _

__Claudia Kincaid decided two things right then and there._ _

__First, that she was going to do whatever she could to make sure that Rachel succeeded in life._ _

__Second, that she was going to get that bracelet away from Ms. Fallon._ _

__Ms. Fallon drew back, her mouth pinching tight with disapproval at the younger woman’s outburst. “If you say so,” she said dismissively._ _

__Rachel shrank back, her shoulders curling in like a wilted flower under the scorching rays of Ms. Fallon’s disdain._ _

__“Look.” Claudia leaned forward, offering a conciliatory smile and a smooth stream of words. “It’s clear that the bracelet didn’t have the value that you thought it would. And it doesn’t really fit with the rest of your collection.”_ _

__Rachel dared to speak up again, very faintly: “Maybe you could donate it to a museum? If you can account for the last hundred years’ worth of provenance, since it disappeared in 1885 - ”_ _

__The last hundred years. That made another piece of the puzzle box in Claudia’s mind slide into place. “Or…” Oh, Claudia should not be doing this. It would set a terrible precedent._ _

__But there was absolutely nothing in any of the contracts or agreements that either she or Ms. Fallon had signed for Treasure Trove that would legally forbid what she was about to do. She had made sure of that before she came; she had even had her brother Jamie the lawyer double-check all of them. She had thought that this would be a possibility, albeit a very very long shot._ _

__But Claudia Kincaid was nothing if not a thorough planner._ _

__“Or,” she began again, “I could buy it from you.”_ _

__“You want it?” Ms. Fallon stared at Claudia. “I mean, I guess I could let it go. It can’t be worth all that much. How much would you want for it?”_ _

__“I’ll give you two hundred and twenty-five dollars,” she said._ _

__Rachel looked over at her in surprised confusion, mouth half open to protest._ _

___Trust me_ , Claudia thought as hard as she could, willing Rachel to understand. _I’ve got this.__ _

__“Two hundred and twenty-five dollars?” Ms. Fallon repeated. “I guess…”_ _

__* * *_ _

__…and so that is how I got the carnelian bracelet as a one-hundredth birthday gift from my almost-granddaughter Claudia Kincaid. That is also why I am directing those funds towards Rachel Goldstein’s graduate study, once she is accepted to a graduate program. I’ve spoken to Rachel, and I concur with Claudia that she deserves to continue studying art history. The art world needs more people like her._ _

__Of course Claudia would ordinarily be far too polite to tell the recipient of a gift how much she paid for it, but she knew I would appreciate the poetry of paying the same amount for another undiscovered treasure, far lower than what it is actually worth. I will have to get the bracelet appraised in earnest so that I can insure it._ _

__But you and I both know that the real value of that bracelet isn’t monetary at all; it’s in knowing whose hand touched it before mine._ _

__\--Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler_ _

**Author's Note:**

> \- Thank you for such wonderful prompts! When I saw “Antiques Roadshow appraiser” and “Mrs. Frankweiler would still be sharp even as she reached her 100th birthday,” I knew I had to combine them. (I briefly considered adding in your “art thief with a heart of gold” idea by having Claudia and Rachel do a heist, but then realized that if Ms. Fallon didn’t like the bracelet, they didn’t really need to steal it from her!) Mrs. Frankweiler was 82 at the time of the events in the book, and the book was published in 1967, so she would be turning 100 in 1985. But the actual Antiques Roadshow didn't start until 1997, so I had to make up a new show for Claudia to work on.
> 
> \- The $225 is a callback to the book: it's the same amount that Mrs. Frankweiler spent on the angel statue.
> 
> \- Some pieces really did go missing from the French crown jewels before they were auctioned off in 1887. I totally made up the details of the bracelet, though; so, apologies to anyone who actually knows about 17th-century French jewelry, because I’m sure I got some things wrong! All of the painters mentioned are fictional, too. The comtes de Laval and the ducs de Gramont were both actual noble families in 17th-century France, but Justine and Anne are my own creation.


End file.
